Personal Integrity, Character Assassination, and the PGF
 
                                            A special document on a matter which goes directly to the issue of personal integrity
                                            in the debate about the Patterson Gimlin Film (PGF)
 
I have been banned from the discussion forum known as the JREF (James Randi Educational Foundation).
 
I reported a person who flat out said i was dishonest, and I expected the moderators of the forum would (at a minimum) uphold the stated policy "address the argument (or idea), not the person".
 
I notified the person in that forum that I had reported him. I then posted a CNN-sourced news article about on-line libel as a reference to the consequences a person should realistically expect for commiting libel with on-line internet statements proven to be libelous.
 
These two posts of mine were removed. The person accusing me of being dishonest was apparently not punished, and his post was not edited or removed. So I gave notice in a posting that I must consider a legal redress.
 
I was banned from membership. The following PDF document details this matter. The whole story of the PGF is filled character assassination, sadly, and at some point, we must say "enough is enough".
 
With this document, I say that now.                  Bill Munns, JREF and the facts of the dispute
 
Bill Munns             June 17, 2011
 
Update as of June 18, 2011
 
Within hours of my posting this material to the site, the entire discussion thread (on me, the Munns Report, and my PGF studies) was removed from the viewing by the JREF administrators or website staff. I do not presume it was from their reading the PDF on this website, but more likely was a result of the email to their forum administrators sent the evening before. Either way, it was a bold and unexpected action.
 
All we can say with certainty is that over 4095 posted messages, the entirety of the discussion for over 2 2/1 years, now apparently ceases to exist. Given that there are far simpler remedies available to them (such as simply editing individual postings or closing the thread but allowing it to stand in view), the virtual elimination of this massive archive of discussion does strongly suggest the legal concerns about defamation against me, and the desire to hide such evidence, may have been the motive. it appears to have been a drastic and impulsive action, and such actions are usually motivated by fear.
 
I will continue to evaluate the options for a legal followup to this incident.
 
Updated October 1, 2011
 
Insults, lies and defamation do continue in PGF or Bigfoot-related discussion threads, and screen captures of this evidence are being collected.
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                       New Notes on the JREF Forum and my Interactions with It and It’s Members
 
I think it is fairly well known to one and all who pay attention to my report or efforts that I and the Forum called the JREF (the James Randi Educational Foundation forum) has had a contentious relationship for years, and I am currently banned from it (described below in detail). But, of course, it’s members continue to post remarks about me, almost all being unkind, insulting, occasionally outright lies, and occasionally so absurd as to be almost comical.
 
I continue to look in on them and usually just let things pass, but occasionally, I feel that a pro-active response in some form is necessary to balance their misinformation and negativism.
 
I decided to take such a step the other day, by making a direct open letter appeal to Mr. James Randi, himself, and sent it to him through the “Contact Us" email function of his foundation website’s own system.
 
Below is the screenprint of the message page with the beginning of my open letter shown.
I’ve decided to publish here the complete letter as well, so anyone can read it. What follows is the complete text of that “Open Letter".
 
November  7, 2012
Open Letter to Mr. James Randi
 
Dear Mr. Randi:
 
You are described in your JREF biography as “the world’s most tireless investigator and demystifier of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims”. Your foundation’s mission statement encourages members toward the acknowledged goal of “taking action with us to stop paranormal and pseudoscientific frauds”. One current discussion thread in your JREF Forum is even titled “James Randi letter to Daredevil” and describes your personal intervention to address a matter whereby Uri Geller is not acknowledged to be the fraud you have investigated and published some expose’ of. One of your forum members, in the same discussion thread (post #7 specifically), the member states: “One of the things I love and admire about Mr. Randi is his uncompromising challenge to any con-artist or example of fraud or malevolent trickery. Now, thirty-five years later, he is still at it.”
 
That brings me to the point of this respectful inquiry.  In many discussions threads of your JREF Forum, I, Bill Munns, am repeatedly and blatantly accused or otherwise identified as a fraud. My alleged “fraud” is that I have applied five years of effort to what I describe as scientific analysis of the famous Patterson Gimlin “Bigfoot” film of 1967, and I conclude and confidently announce publicly that my analysis concludes the film is authentic and the “creature” seen in that film is in fact some real biological entity often called a “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch” and is not a hoaxed figure accomplished with a normal human in a costume of any kind. And in your JREF Forum, members in good standing repeatedly state with confident impunity that I am a fraud, as a person, or that I am engaged in some manner of fraud, as an activity, because of that public position I take, and the fact that I seek and occasionally obtain funding for my scientific efforts..
 
In your JREF Forum’s membership agreement, rule 12, it states “address the argument, not the arguer”. That, as I understand it, would mean that the forum, its administrators and moderators (acting under the auspices of your personal name and reputation) do not consider these attacks labeling me a fraud as inappropriate, because they do not remove the remarks or restrain or punish the people posting same. The implication is that by their allowing the remarks to stand unchallenged (and I am banned from forum participation so I cannot challenge the remarks myself) that these administrators and moderators (acting under your name and reputation) find enough merit in the claims to let them rise above your Rule #12 and attack me personally, “attack the arguer”
 
Therefore, I make this direct and personal appeal to you, sir. If the following three stipulations are true:
 
1. That you are dedicated to exposing fraud where paranormal or pseudoscientific claims are being made”
 
2. That your Foundation and it’s JREF Forum are encouraging members to “taking action with us to stop paranormal and pseudoscientific frauds”
 
and
 
3. That your foundation and forum is not and would not aid and abet or be accomplice to any act of public defamation or libel or slander of an actual person, by allowing false accusations to stand as apparent facts for public viewing
 
Then I cordially invite and indeed encourage you to personally intervene and prove that I am, in fact, a fraud (in the personal sense) or am engaged in fraud (as an activity).
 
To facilitate an evaluation of this matter, you may want to confir with two of your Forum members, using the screen names of “Alaska Bush Pilot” and “rockinkt” because both have repeatedly denounced me as a fraud on numerous posted comments, and both have given indications that they have academic or law enforcement experience with the identification or exposure of con-men, manipulators and perpetrators of fraud. So they can likely get you on the fast track to evaluate these accusations.
 
Sincerely,
 
Bill Munns
wmunns@gte.net
 
postscript: In the absence of any action or intervention on your part, one could reasonably conclude that at least one (or more) of the above three stipulations is in fact false, and that the forum acting under your name and reputation does aid, abet or may be regarded as willing accomplice to defamation, libel or slander.
 
Note:
Additional documentation of these posted remarks accusing me of fraud or otherwise defaming me is available on request, in the form of screenprints of actual JREF forum postings.
 

(End of the “Open Letter” text)
Will Mr. Randi actually see this letter, I can only hope but likely will never know for sure. How his foundation staff will react or respond to it, I can only wait and see. There has been no reaction  that I can see so far. I will encourage anyone who does have membership and posting rights on the JREF to bring it to the attention to the members, but suspect if that is done, the Moderators there may censor any references, but that suspicion remains to be seen.     Additionally, since members of that forum are allowed to express their opinions of me, personally, in open public postings, I should have equal right and so I am posting a remark I made in another forum about the JREF crowd, offering my own opinion of them, in a public posting. Fair is fair, and if they can remark about me, I have equal right to remark about them. So what I posted not long ago is as follows:
 
 
 
BFF Posting in “The JREF Crowd” Thread
 
“What I personally find so perplexing about the JREF cult is that they flat out refuse to consider even the possibility I may be sincere in my thoughts and efforts, when I happen to take great pride in being sincere in what I research, what I write, and how I try to do things in a scientific way. Now how much I know, how competent I am at what I do, how well I reason things out, that's all fair game to be debated, but if someone wants to criticize my efforts, they should have specific things they can point to, quote me and my notes, and then say "here's your error". That I would understand.
 
But they instead start with a delusional assumption I must be a fraud, indeed some of the truly paranoid have outright accused me of committing fraud, and their delusional assumption is I MUST be lying in my core intent, claiming my goal is to deceive, when I really knock myself out trying to be as factual as I can, and won't post anything unless I sincerely believe it is true and responsible to say or write. So once they launch their delusion on the basis of assumed intent that I am a fraud, and intent on deception, everything from there is rationalized in their minds around that delusion.
 
They pride themselves in being "critical thinkers" but are, in fact "critical unthinking drones" who can't get past their own flawed assumptions.
 
In one respect, it's sad, in another, it's a bit scary, that they have such a platform for publicly posting their lies and delusions and presenting them as facts, and there's zero moderation to rein them in.
 
But it is an intriguing lesson in human nature, to know the truth of who I am and what I do, and then read their wild and even insane delusions of who they think I am and what I do.
 
So it is from personal experience that I can confidently say they are a cult of dogma-obsessed drones who wouldn't recognize the truth no matter how you present it to them.
 
Bill “
 
My previous interactions with the JREF, follow below,  and why I was banned follow below, should anyone be interested in knowing more of the history between me and this forum or its members.